Divine Metal

In central Ahmedabad a narrow road passes beneath Fernandes Bridge, made all the more narrow by the mass of book sellers who’s stalls are staked high.

The road passes from the market area known as Manek Chowk, heading north through the heart of the old city past a small cluster of temple silversmiths, engravers of auspicious signs, metal wholesalers and on towards the Swaminarayan Mandir (Temple).

Enamelled copper is used to form 'Gods Eyes'.

'Yantra' are small squares of metal engraved with designs. Yantrat were traditionally made from“Pach-Dhatu” a mix of five metals. They are used at prayers. Each God has a special 'Yantra'.

Laxashmi the Goddesses of wealth is one of the most popular and “Yantra” related to her are highly valued.

The old city of Ahmedabad is made up of ‘Pols’- self contained, gated neighborhoods; like cul-de-sacs of houses, arranged around narrow lanes. Together the Pols form a labyrinth, linked by hidden passages and tiny pathways. Each Pol has a ‘Chabutara’ or Bird feeder, its own well, sometimes a temple or mosque, a public space and often a diary, shop, laundry, rice mill… Each Pol has a name and is generally identified by the community or trade of the residents. I had heard that within one of the Pols there was a whole street of metalworkers who would fall into a rhythm of hammering in sync whilst they formed, textured and planished large copper water vessels. One evening, walking through the city, just beyond Fernandes Bridge and the bookstalls I was drawn by the sound of a constant rhythm of workers hammering. The regular beat didn’t come from the coppersmiths but instead from a small group of workshops making silver and gold metal leaf for use in temples, for offerings and on sweets.

Here men spend their days hammering a stack of small gold rectangles each one measuring approximately 1.2cm x 2.5cm and weighing around 0.05g.

These small pieces are stretched to make fine finished sheets 15cm x 12.5cm.

The gold is sandwiched between sheets of what the workers described as 'medical' paper (similar, I think, to the tough material used for disposable over suits or Tyvek) and held in a wallet of fine leather.

The men sit crossed legged and have a series of large stone tablets set in the floor as a base for working. A light touch of hand constantly shifts the position of the envelope on the stone slabs whilst the hammer systematically beats across the surface, evenly stretching the metal sheets inside.

The heavy hammers used for this work have two highly polished faces, one narrow for stretching the metal quickly, the other wider and flatter for smoothing out the foil. The men polish the hammer heads on teakwood boards coated with emery powder.

The work is highly repetitive, the rhythm and position of the worker seem to fall into a pattern, much like an automata. For periods of time the craftsman doesn't look at the envelope with the foil inside nor the position of the hammer blows. Its as if he has a picture in his head of what is happening, gauged through the touch of his fingers. You can see the men making metal leaf here: Precious Metal Leaf Makers.

There are several stages to drawing out the metal to make leaf.

Firstly precious metal wire is rolled out into the thin strips which are then cut into the small rectangles.

The initial stage of hammering produces a rounded rectangle that needs to be cut and re-arranged, then hammered again.

The rectangles are divided into quarters and the sections rotated to move the cut straight edges to the outsides producing a crisp rectangle.

A stainless steel blade, chalk, a leather finger 'mitt' and pulses of air are used to cut and lift the gold leaf, demonstrating a deep awareness of the nature and feel of the material. Small additional pieces trimmed from the edges are used to patch the gaps and in-fill the centre.

You can see the men cutting and rearranging the sheets of metal leaf here: Precious Metal Leaf Workers.

After re-arranging, the metal leaf goes back into the leather wallet to be hammered again. The overlapping pieces are fused together by the hammering process.

Taking a stack of around 30 small pieces of gold and stretching them into a fine leaf takes a whole day. The leather wallets and papers last for approximately three months before they need to be replaced.

Wrapping the sweets in silver or gold not only enhances their appearance but acts as a method of preservation, drawing on the inert and antimicrobial qualities of the metals. Sweets without the foil only remain fresh for a few days, those coated with the foil can last for "several weeks"......

Nirona

If you look beyond the dusty and surface of the village of Nirona in Kutch, you can find, hidden down the narrow lanes, some wonderful architectural details.

Like much of Kutch, the area, and the people, were shaken by the massive earthquake in 2001 when some 15,000 people were killed. Both appear to be taking a while to recover.

Likewise if you look beyond the surface you can find that this unassuming village is a focus for a range of highly skilled craft practices.

It is home to a specialized form of textile work called Roghan Art, where boiled and coloured safflower, castor or linseed oil is applied to fabric with delicate precision to create intricate and complex designs.

The process has its origins in Persia and one family still practicing the art in Gujarat have won national awards for their work.

It takes 12 hours to boil down the oil base which is then poured into water to create its thick, sticky consistency.

Traditionally natural pigments such as clay and chalk are added to give colour, although more recently man-made pigments are used. Kerosene is used to reduce the thickness of the paste if needed.

To create a design, the thick coloured paste is lifted on a blunt metal rod and warmed on the hand, the liquid is allowed to drop in a fine thread which is drawn across the surface of the fabric leaving the trace of a design.

Many of the final designs using this process are symmetrical because the design is first drawn on one half the fabric and when complete (within 2-3 hrs) the second half of the sheet is folded over and both sides are pressed together; printing the design to the second half and forcing the oil based pigment into the weave of the fabric. Once the design is drawn the fabric is laid flat to dry for several days.

Due to the sticky nature of the material, cast and etched metal blocks can be used to print designs with the paste onto fabric and paper. Its adhesive qualities are similar to gilders size for metal leaf work and sometimes fine metal powders are dusted over the moist roghan paste to give glistening details to the fabric. ‘Warkh Kaam’ is a similar technique which uses metal leaf applied to the sticky paste.

In contrast to the cool of the Rogan workshop, in another part of the village a group of lacquer workers sit in the shade of a large tree, working small bow lathes.

One turns small pieces of wood using both hands and feet to control the lathe, the chisel, the bow and the timber as it spins forwards and backwards.

The small blocks of coloured lacquer used to decorate and seal the timber would once have been made from either the resin of a tree or a grease extracted from insects mixed with minerals and pigments to give colour. The origins of the process are from both China and Persia.

As the timber spins, the heat generated by the friction softens the lacquer and coats the wood surface. A cloth is used to smooth and polish the colour, the lacquer hardens through oxidising.

Two men worked together making spoons, chapatti rollers and spatulas whilst nearby a man working on another portable lathe made legs for furniture.

Whilst I watched the men work the women appeared and set out examples of their craft to sell, mostly small textile figures and dolls made from small scraps of fabric.

Many of the women wore beautiful bangles, some glass, some plastic – symbolic of their status as married women.

Some wore ivory bangles on the upper arm called ‘Chura’. The source of the ivory is elephant, a material that was once traded with Africa or may have come from Assam, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka. This type of adornment is typical of women of the Meghwal tribal group.

Nirona is also known for its metal bell makers.

In a small workshop a family make small copper-coated steel bells. Originally the craft was developed for the flocks of grazing goat and buffalo in the region but as animal husbandry declines so they have become more dependant upon other outlets for their skills including entrance bells and the tourist / export trades.

The men work on the floor with a group of stakes, hammers, snips and punches.

A strip of steel is cut and formed in to a cylinder into a hollow and then over a stake, the ends are cut to form an overlapping ‘combed’ joint. Sometimes to ensure that the joint is fixed a thread of wire is stitched along the tabs.

The top edge is flared on the edge of a stake, this lip will be used to attach the domed top of the bell.

A disc is sunk into the hollow of a short length of tube to form a dome and the two components are brought together.

A thin strip is cut and formed into a loop with two tags which are inserted through the top of the dome.

This piece forms both the hoop for hanging the bell as well as the clasp for holding the striker - a thin piece of dense and heavy wood which will swing inside the bell.

When complete the bell is dipped in a solution of earth ‘mitte’ and water. Fine metal filings of brass and copper are applied to the mud. Cotton soaked in the mud solution is then made into flat pancakes and applied around the surface of the bell covering the surface and the metal filings.

Presumably the mud has a fluxing property as well as excluding oxygen (which would allow the bell to oxidise) The whole object is then baked in a ‘Bhatti’, a high temperature earth oven. The copper and brass melt, fusing the joints and sealing the surface of the steel bell with a thin coloured coating.

The striker is added and then the lip of the bell is gently hammered to tune it to the correct tone and ring. The bells come in all manner of combinations and sizes.

It seems that all surfaces in Kutch are decorated - even the tractors are decorated with a  painted metal bumper.